Robert Lewis, President and Principal of Development Strategies, has achieved the planning profession’s highest honor by being named to the prestigious American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) College of Fellows for his outstanding achievements in urban planning.

Bob has been contributing to the planning profession for over 40 years. Viewing his role as an educator in a variety of contexts, he has helped inform communities of their economic opportunities and challenges in his consulting work, and taught economics and planning at several universities. Additionally, he has sat on advisory boards and panels, and participated in the local and national leadership of several professional organizations, including the American Planning Association, International Economic Development Council, and Urban Land Institute. Bob is particularly proud of his role in planning for the creation of the Greater St. Louis Economic Development Council, as well as planning that initiated positive changes in Midtown and Downtown Detroit. His peers continue to marvel at his energy, enthusiasm, and passion.

“Individuals who make up the College of Fellows are the true leaders of the planning profession,” said AICP President Valerie Hubbard, FAICP. “These individuals have made lasting contributions to the profession and have inspired generations of new planners. They are truly awe-inspiring.”

Bob is one of 61 inductees into this year’s College of Fellows. Inductions are done biennially. This year’s formal induction took place during APA’s National Planning Conference in Phoenix, Arizona in April. There are currently 569 members in the College of Fellows.

]]>Project Update: Students Move In After $58M Renovation in Chicago, ILhttp://development-strategies.com/blog-news-updates/project-update-the-arc-at-old-colony/
Thu, 08 Oct 2015 19:43:53 +0000http://development-strategies.com/?p=1433Students began moving into the rehabbed Old Colony office building on August 21, after its $58 million conversion by CA Ventures LLC and MCJ Development into 137 apartment units. Renamed The Arc at Old Colony, the building was originally constructed in 1894 and is on the National Register of Historic Places, qualifying for $10 million in federal historic tax credits. Its location on Van Buren Street adjacent to the historic Harold Washington Library in Downtown Chicago’s Loop is within easy walking distance of 24 institutions of higher learning. The building was one of the first of its kind to employ a unique structural portal wind-bracing system, allowing for open floor plates and thinner masonry exterior cladding—ideal for its conversion to housing.

Development Strategies completed sophisticated market analyses and expense scenario for a potential equity investor in the project that was concerned about the depth of student demand, with over 2,900 student beds completed in the Loop/South Loop market since 2007.

Chicago Tribune’s photo gallery of the Arc at Old Colony can be viewed here.

]]>Project Update: $188M Rehab of Historic Arcade Building Complete in St. Louis, MOhttp://development-strategies.com/blog-news-updates/project-update-arcade-building-2/
Tue, 22 Sep 2015 16:22:17 +0000http://development-strategies.com/?p=1241The $118 million rehab of the historic Arcade Building in the heart of Downtown St. Louis is now complete. Development Strategies provided various consulting services to the development team, led by Minneapolis-based developer Dominium Partners, including various market studies and appraisal work. The complications of the building’s rehabilitation was only exceeded by the complicated financing structure of the deal, which includes Brownfields tax credits, New Markets Tax Credits, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, city financing, and traditional debt. The refurbished space will house both market rate and affordable apartments, classrooms for Webster University, and retail space. We look forward to the enhanced character the completed building will bring to the city.

More pictures and the full article from the St. Louis Business Journal is available here.

]]>Project Update: IKEA Opens First Store in Missourihttp://development-strategies.com/blog-news-updates/project-update-ikea/
Wed, 02 Sep 2015 11:39:12 +0000http://development-strategies.com/?p=1234It’s hard not to notice the big blue building on Interstate 64 when you pass through St. Louis. A familiar site in major metropolitan areas, IKEA is finally opening a store in Missouri. Development Strategies is pleased to have assisted the development team with planning and revenue projections for the complicated financing of the project. Located in the CORTEX innovation district of midtown St. Louis, the store has definitely kick-started interest in the area, which Development Strategies has assisted with planning since its original inception in the 1990s.

]]>Karin Hagaman is President and CEO of Grand Center, Inchttp://development-strategies.com/blog-news-updates/karin-hagaman/
Fri, 28 Aug 2015 05:14:01 +0000http://development-strategies.com/?p=1230Development Strategies is pleased to congratulate our former associate Karin Hagaman, recently selected to succeed Vince Schoemehl as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Grand Center, Inc., which supports the Grand Center arts and entertainment district in midtown St. Louis. Development Strategies has worked with Grand Center for many years, and the district offers 14,000 theater seats, 17 museums and galleries, world-renowned jazz clubs, and a wide variety of restaurants within four blocks.
]]>Project Update: Development of the Knoxville South Waterfront Set to Take Offhttp://development-strategies.com/blog-news-updates/project-update-knoxville_waterfront/
Mon, 03 Aug 2015 02:19:11 +0000http://development-strategies.com/?p=1217As is often the case, patience in city planning efforts is necessary in the face of economic hardships, and requires perseverance. Such was the case for Knoxville’s South Waterfront, where Development Strategies assisted Hargreaves Associates and Chan Krieger Associates, in 2006, in reimagining the City’s urban waterfront as a place with inviting parks, new housing, and walkable, mixed-use environments. While the Great Recession of 2007 and 2008 put those plans on hold, Knoxville is now moving forward with park and infrastructure development, and private investment is planned in the form of transformative new development.

Details on how the park and riverfront investments will help transform the South Knoxville waterfront can be found here.

]]>Project Update: Sweet Tea and Comprehensive Plans in Summerville, SChttp://development-strategies.com/blog-news-updates/project-update-summerville-south-carolina/
Fri, 31 Jul 2015 07:58:57 +0000http://development-strategies.com/?p=1224Summerville is the reputed birthplace of “sweet tea,” or “table wine of the south.” Development Strategies worked with The Lawrence Group in early 2014, to help the new city administration with a comprehensive plan to capitalize on this former summer retreat for overheated residents of Charleston. Three development scenarios were created for three very different parts of Summerville: its historic downtown, a decaying greyfield shopping center, and a newly emerging interstate highway interchange. These now serve as prototype planning centers for similar locations elsewhere in the city.

Learn how important sweet tea is for Summerville’s economic development here.

]]>Project Update: Veterans New Beginnings Apartments Now Openhttp://development-strategies.com/blog-news-updates/project-update-veterans-new-beginnings-apartments-now-open/
Mon, 08 Jun 2015 16:04:15 +0000http://development-strategies.com/?p=1200Development Strategies is pleased to have completed several market studies and analyses to assist the development team that recently completed Veterans New Beginnings Apartments, a four-story, supportive housing development that provides case management, substance abuse counseling, GED preparation classes, vocational training in addition to fully furnished apartment units to formerly homeless veterans. The 54 units, located on the near south side of Chicago, were fully occupied within a few weeks after the building opened in March 2015.

Across the country, nearly 50,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, according to a 2014 HUD study. Development Strategies has completed similar market studies as well as appraisals for similar facilities in Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.

Additional information on how this project was made possible due to funds from LISC, read here

]]>Award for Beacon Hill Neighborhood Redevelopment in Kansas City, MOhttp://development-strategies.com/blog-news-updates/project-update-beacon-hill/
Fri, 29 May 2015 09:37:11 +0000http://development-strategies.com/?p=1157Development Strategies congratulates Beacon Hill Developers, which represents the City of Kansas City and its LCRA in the ongoing redevelopment of the Beacon Hill neighborhood. We are pleased to have provided various market analyses for phases of the project, a 90-acre mixed-use, new-urbanist neighborhood within walking distance of Hospital Hill, Crown Center, and Union Station that offers a panoramic view of downtown.

Beacon Hill offers over 300 new building sites for single-family houses, attached and detached, in addition to 100 fully renovated traditional and historic Kansas City houses. It has been designed as a traditional urban neighborhood with a pedestrian orientation and streetscape, rear lanes for garage access, open space and neighborhood amenities such as a community center, retail live/work spaces, and commercial lofts. The historic Robinson Hospital has been redeveloped as the Residences of West Paseo, an affordable housing development for 45 senior residents. An extended stay hotel and grocery store are also planned.

]]>Project Update: Hotel Ignacio Receives “Most Enhanced Buildings” Awardhttp://development-strategies.com/blog-news-updates/project-update-hotel-ignacio/
Fri, 22 May 2015 15:09:18 +0000http://development-strategies.com/?p=1237Building on its success in redeveloping its Midtown St. Louis neighborhood, and recognizing the lack of suitable hotel accommodations for visitors to its campus, St. Louis University developed Hotel Ignacio in a vacant historic building adjacent to its Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology. The former laundry-cleaner site was named one of the city’s “Most Enhanced Buildings” by Landmarks Association of St. Louis, and the AAA four diamond hotel is within walking distance of the Grand Center arts and entertainment district as well as the university’s campus. Each room, of which no two are alike, showcases one of four design themes: fine arts, performing arts, music, or architecture, with finishes that highlight each theme. Development Strategies provided appraisal services for the project, which included valuing the real estate as well as the incentives necessary to make the project feasible.

Details of the Landmarks Association of St. Louis, 11 Most Enhanced Places, are available here.

Design Bureau also named Hotel Ignacio on the Seven Best New Design Hotels in America.